The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and in particular to connector modules that can readily be incorporated into electronic devices and cables.
A wide variety of electronic devices are available for consumers today. Many of these devices have connectors that that facilitate communication with and/or charging of a corresponding device. Typically these connectors are part of a male plug connector and female receptacle connector system in which the plug connector can be inserted into and mated with the receptacle connector so that digital and analog signals can be transferred between the contacts in each connector. More often than not, the female connector in the connector system is included in a host electronic device such as a portable media player, a smart phone, a table computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer or the like. More often than not, the plug connector in the connector system is included in an accessory device such as a charging cable, a docking station or an audio sound system. In some instances, however, devices, for example cable adapters, include both receptacle and plug connectors. Also, in some instances, the plug connector/receptacle connector pairing can be part of a large ecosystem of products that includes both host electronic devices and accessory devices designed to work together. Thus, the same format plug connector can be incorporated into many different accessories, which in turn can be designed to operate with multiple different host devices that include the corresponding receptacle connector.
The various accessories and devices that are part of the ecosystem may be manufactured by many different companies in many different locations throughout the world. The connectors, on the other hand, may be manufactured by companies different than those that manufacture the accessories and device and may be manufactured at different locations. Thus, the connectors may be shipped from a connector manufacturing facility to another manufacturing facility.